How the German Facebook law is shaping online media

Today, we deviate from the usual topics and have a look at some of the Internet’s other burning problems: namely social media, its influential power and how people are reacting to it. Last year was a defining year, as scandals about Fake News, the effect of the Filter Bubble and unmoderated Hate Speeches were unfortunately on the rise. A very strong and strict action against those (especially the Fake News and the Hate Speeches) were made by the German government, with a legalization that has been since nicknamed as the “Facebook law”, even though it also applies to other sites such as Twitter and YouTube.

The Facebook Law

Facebook has recently gained a lot a lot of attention because the radical scene has used it so much. In Germany, several parties are lobbying to pull offensive posts from the site, and as a result, a new law has been born.

The law was passed in June 2017, after a rise of threatening posts, directed against foreigners and politicians who support refugees. The law came into full effect on 1st January 2018. Since then there have been a number of suspensions in the law’s first few weeks, and critics are afraid that it will impact free speech, as companies try to avoid fines.

Facebook’s reaction

Of course, Facebook lobbied against the legislation, but in the meantime, it was also busy with preparations for implementing the law as it came into action. Facebook and Twitter have tailored their German websites and added additional features for flagging up hurtful content. The companies have spent months hiring and training moderators to cope with the Network Enforcement Act or the Facebook law.

Fines for hateful contents and fake news can go up to 50 million euros if the social media sites fail to remove those messages properly.

Why Germany?

Germans are known to be open to e-commerce and online activities: the country is Amazon’s second biggest market after the US, but they are also much more reticent about social media than any other nationalities. Maybe it is a legacy from East Germany’s wayward past of government surveillance on inhabitants, but people are willing to go far for keeping their privacy intact.

Public concern about rising hate speech was high since the arrival of more than a million asylum seekers. They hope the law will stop the rise of public hate against them, as the contents will be banned from social media. It is a question if other European nations will follow the country’s example, and for example, France will have its own implementation of the now famous Facebook law.